A collision of hearts
by Writheworth
Summary: Magnus Bane have always been known to Alec Lightwood. But only from a distance has he been able to watch this colourful man fling blue sparks from his fingertips. Alec is 19 and has never kissed anyone. Maybe it's time to change that. And maybe Magnus Bane is the man for the job.
1. Chapter 1: Short version

**A collision of hearts**

By Writheworth

Chapter 1: Short version

* * *

Were his eyes open? Alec couldn't decide. It was just black. Death – the only true freedom. That was the saying, right? Well, if that was true, then he was not dead. No, his body was burning. A wild fire eating away at every cell in his body. Slowly draining every drop of life left in him. He wanted to get away but there was nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide from the intense pain that was burning him alive. He wanted to scream, but his throat was filled with a thick liquid seeming to flow in both directions. He coughed, feeling the blood run down his face. He took a rattling breath, trying to ease the pain in his throbbing lungs, but only more coughing followed making it worse.

He thought it would never end. He was stuck in limbo, cursed with eternal suffering, never dying. Feeling the fire chew at his body until only ash remained, and then reliving the same experience over, and over, and over… But then… a blue light among the flames, calling him. The light seemed to crash into his chest, chocking the fire there and then working its' way through his limbs, eliminating the pain, leaving a warm tingling sensation behind. The blackness surrounding him inched away, slowly, until only a frame of darkness covered his sight. Above him was the silhouette of a slender figure with its' hair in neat spikes.

"Alexander?"

* * *

Alec opened his eyes, blinking away the blurriness. He felt a dull ache in his body, like after a full day's training with Jace and Isabelle. The ceiling was white and familiar, but he couldn't place it until he lowered his gaze and saw the rest of the room. He was at the institute, in the infirmary. How did he get here? Flinching he tried to sit up but stopped in the middle of the movement.

Beside his bed stood an armchair. In it sat none other than Magnus Bane, high warlock of Brooklyn. Well, maybe 'sat' was the wrong word. The warlock was splayed over the armrests in an uncomfortable position; head hanging loosely, his body far too long, it seemed, to fit in the chair in any way. His eyes were closed and he was breathing heavily.

"What are you doing here?" Alec asked without thinking, in chock after discovering the sparkling character next to his bed.

Magnus awoke with a start almost falling out of his chair. He looked around, disoriented, until his eyes fell upon Alec. Then he smiled and relaxed a little, sitting up properly.

"Can't a man sleep in a chair without being asked questions?" He answered stretching sleep out of his limbs, but suddenly flinching and rubbing his neck, sore from the awkward sleeping position.

Alec hesitated.

"What happened? 'Cause I am guessing something happened, because I'm in the infirmary, but I don't…"

Alec started looking down his body, searching for an iratze or a wound of some kind, but found nothing. The warlock studied his search, brows raised.

"You don't remember?"

Alec shook his head.

"Well do you want the long version or the short version?" Magnus asked watching the confused shadowhunter.

"I'll just give you the short version, I'm craving some coffee. Details can wait." He continued without waiting for an answer. "You and your little friends got a call and went out on your little mission, but on the way you were taken by surprise, attacked by demons. You got slashed and the poison from its claws started spreading. Jace tried to draw an iratze, but all it did was heal your wound, not stop the poison from tearing at your body from the inside, so they called me, which was lucky. Otherwise you might have…"

Even though Magnus has started his storytelling with a cheery kind of mood, it seemed to drop towards the end. Alec trailed his fingers over his back, and found the small irregularity in the skin, indicating a rune, the iratze drawn by Jace. There was a silence. Only their breathing could be heard in the room.

"Thank you." Alec said after a few seconds. The warlock lifted his gaze and met Alec's blue eyes with his own yellow ones. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, but then he rose from his chair, stretching tall showing a streak of golden skin between his trousers and his shirt. Alec tried not to stare, but failed miserably. Magnus' smile broadened a little and he started walking towards the exit.

Alec's heart skipped a beat as the panic spread; the fear of not meeting him again anytime soon.

"Would you like to go out with me?"

Alec couldn't believe his own ears. His mouth had formed the words all on its own. Magnus stopped short, looking over his slender shoulder at the shadowhunter whose face was beet red.

"Sorry?" He pushed, having heard clearly, though wanting to push the guy just a step further.

"I said…" Alec tried to swallow the lump in his throat preventing him from pronouncing the words again. "Would you like… To go out… With me."

Magnus turned on the spot and moved gracefully towards the bed.

"What makes you ask me that?" He asked, his white teeth exposed in an amused smile.

Alec frowned.

"Wha… Because I want to go out with you." He tried, not fully understanding what the warlock was looking for.

Magnus snickered and stopped at the foot of the bed, leaning over Alec.

"Have you ever gone out with anyone before?"

Alec hesitated.

"Well…"

"No?" Magnus filled in.

"No." Alec confessed awkwardly, scratching his neck even though there was no itch.

"Delightful! I love first times. Saturday? Dinner. My place."

Magnus stared at Alec, smiling, as though he couldn't quite get enough of his appearance.

"Ok."

Alec tried not to blush under the taller man's gaze.

"It's a date." Magnus said, leaving his post at the foot of the bed, giving Alec one last look before walking towards the door with his long strides.

"See you Saturday." was heard from the corridor after he had disappeared around the corner.


	2. Chapter 2: Call me

**A collision of hearts**

By: Writheworth

Chapter 2: Call me

A/N: I've had some technical troubles with this chapter. Had to keep on re-posting it, but finally it's readable (I hope)  
Would love to hear some opinions or requests (:  
Happy reading ~

Update: I just realized that only half of the first chapter was posted (?). I have no idea how that happened... Now the whole thing is uploaded, hopefully it's a bit more logical now that it doesn't end in the middle of a scentance... (x

* * *

Alec's finger hovered over the buzzer next to the name Magnus Bane.

 _Just press it._

He took a deep breath…. But nothing happened. His finger remained where it was, only touching the air in front of the button, and so it had been for the last five minutes. This was just stupid. They had decided upon dinner today, he had every reason to be there, so what was stopping him from pressing the buzzer?

 _Do it, or go home._

Alec took another deep breath for courage… Still, nothing happened.

 _By the angel… Coward._

He shook his head and was just about to give up and lower his hand when a loud noise made him jump. He twisted around, reaching for his seraph blade but stopped short when he saw the source of the sound. A large dog stood by the sidewalk barking at a dove which apparently was out of line. The owner of the dog tiredly told it to stop and dragged it out of sight. Alec allowed himself to relax but not for long…

"CLOSED FOR BUISNESS, LEAVE!"

Alec almost jumped out of his skin. What was wrong with him? In a fight fear never immobilized him, on the opposite, it made him faster, but now it just made him loose control of his body. He hadn't even noticed he had pressed the buzzer by accident when the dog had been on the brink of giving him a heart attack just seconds before.

Clutching his heart he stepped closer to the buzzer.

"Sorry, I… It's me."

"Oh! Darling," Magus' voice exclaimed through the speaker. "Come right up."

Alec smiled a little and entered. He started walking up the stairs, hearing his boots make a thumping sound by every step. He tried to swallow his nervousness but it just seemed to rise by every step he took.

He reached the door and noticed it was ajar. Alec hesitated for a moment before knocking slightly. When no one answered he invited himself and opened the door completely. He was welcomed by what seemed to be an empty flat. Once again he knocked lightly on the now open door.

"Magnus?"

No answer. He had buzzed Alec in, so he was obviously aware that he had arrived. Alec thoroughly wiped his boots on the doormat before he entered the flat. Most people would make a noise, walking with such heavy boots, but Alec's presence could not be noticed by sound. Years of training had evolved his prowess to its fullest potential. If he didn't want to be heard, he wasn't heard. That was a fact. Though he overused that skill, simply out of habit and often ended up scaring Clary out of her shoes when he inaudible entered the room.

Alec tried to listen after Magnus, but no sound could be heard, revealing his location. He entered the living room where a large sofa took up most of the space. The black leather had been ripped by what seemed to be claws. In front of the sofa there was a coffee table made out of glass. It would have been a very beautiful asset to the room, if not for the fact that it was covered in circled stains of coffee. Alec went deeper into the room and raised his eyebrows when he realized that what he had thought to be a black wall was actually a very large flat screen TV.

"Like it?"

He twisted around and found himself standing face to face with a sparkling warlock. Alec's jaw dropped. Magnus was standing, tall and beautiful, in a doorway. He was dressed in a black, knitted shirt with large holes in it, exposing a neon-yellow tank top underneath. His legs were clad in tight leather pants which hung low on his slim hips. He was barefoot, showing off his pink painted nails. His black hair was styled in neat spikes, topped off with purple glitter, matching his makeup which was dark and mysterious, and, let's face it – very hot.

"Yeah." Alec breathed, not referring to the TV.

Magnus chuckled and walked out into the room in which Alec was standing.

"I see you picked out your most special outfit."

Alec looked down at himself. He was wearing his ordinary clothes. He never needed anything else since he never attended special events, so that was all his closet consisted of. He hadn't even though of putting on something different. Everything on him was black, except maybe his old worn t-shirt which was starting to become more gray than black.

Black boots, trousers, jacket, and hair. The only thing on him that was not black was his pale skin and…

"Your eyes," Magnus said tilting his head. "They really stand out in all that lack of colour." Alec's blue eyes met Magnus' yellow ones.

"Yours always seem to stand out."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Magnus said confidently and smiled crookedly.

"It was meant as one." Alec replied returning the taller man's smile.

Magnus chuckled and fluttered his long, dark eyelashes.

"Hungry?"

"Starving." It was true. Alec hadn't been able to eat anything all day due to nervousness. Now, as he was standing there in front of the warlock he felt calm and couldn't understand what he had been so nervous about.

Magnus took Alec's hand and dragged him along to the couch in which he seated him before disappearing into the kitchen. A moment later he returned carrying two pizza boxes, a bottle of red wine and two glasses.

"I ordered them a few hours ago, since I wasn't sure what time you'd show up"

He had stacked it all in one hand and was holding it up like a waiter. Alec raised his eyebrows at Magnus' choice of food for a date, a detail which Magnus noticed.

"Oh, don't worry, I've reheated them. They're as good as new, better even." He said misunderstanding Alec's questioning gaze. He lifted his free hand up to demonstrate his secret to reheating pizza, and a blue flame rose from his palm.

"I didn't know what you like, so I got a Hawaiian pizza and the other one's with pepperoni."

He put everything down on the table (with surprising ease) and sat down beside Alec.

"Both sound fine." Alec said. He had gotten the idea that dates meant fancy, expensive food. Pizza wasn't what he had expected, but it was more than fine, actually better than the alternative. He was too hungry to be satisfied by fancy food portions the size of his thumb.

Magnus showed off his white teeth in a smile and poured up whine, nodding for Alec to start eating, an order Alec gladly obeyed opening the top box taking out a slice of pepperoni pizza.

* * *

"She was very forward to say the least…"

On the table, the pizza cartons stood empty, as did Magnus' glass and the wine bottle, though Alec hadn't yet finished his first glass. He lay back in the couch, looking at Magnus as he told his stories. He had never felt so at peace. He wasn't sure if it was all Magnus or if the wine had something to do with it. He wasn't very familiar with alcohol, having only ever tasted very small amounts in the past. This was the first time he had had his own glass of an alcoholic drink. But maybe you had to drink more to be affected by it?

"And that's like my number 1 rule: Don't touch the hair! Or the face!"

Alec's cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling, but he couldn't stop: there was a gorgeous warlock sitting just an arm length away. They both had their legs up on the couch, and Magnus' knee was lying on top of Alec's. The touch seemed to fling sparks, but if you looked, none could be seen.

"I almost cursed her. No one in the world of fashion would have blamed me if I did."

Alec hadn't spoken for half an hour. Magnus did all the talking, which the shadowhunter didn't mind at all. Magnus' skin was sparkling in the semi-darkness; he was almost a greater light source than the low-burning candles. Alec wasn't sure whether it was make up, magic or just his natural skin. It all seemed equally plausible.

"She ended up pissing off a werewolf who almost broke my door trying to get to her."

The warlock started chuckling, and didn't really seem to be able to stop, the wine affecting his normal casualness, though not removing his charm, according to Alec.

"And that was the last I saw… Of the both of them…" He chuckled, struggling to get the words out. "And I wouldn't be… Surprised if she's… She's a werewolf now!"

He laughed loudly, and kept on laughing, and after barely avoiding falling off the couch he ended up laying on his back, legs strewn over Alec's lap, his head resting on the armrest. The warlock lay there chuckling lazily with his arm thrown over his eyes, apparently having forgotten about his make up (unless it was magically protected).

After a moment his laughter eventually died out and he took a deep breath, recovering from the experience.

"So, first date: Check." Magnus said, smiling broadly. "How has it been so far?"

Alec rested his hands upon the warlock's slim legs, feeling the smooth leather against his rough palms.

"Amazing." Alec answered stroking his thumb over Magnus' knee.

"What other firsts do you have left?"

Alec frowned.

"Well…" He began, not sure where to start. There were a lot of firsts left, there always were, weren't there? "What firsts are you referring to?"

"Hmm… Killed a demon?"

"Well of course I've done that." Alec answered snickering.

"Seen Pulp fiction?"

"'S that a movie? Then no, not yet, I guess."

Magnus chuckled at his lack of education concerning pop culture.

"Been to a concert?"

"No, I can listen to music when I'm at home." Alec answered, not sure why anyone would prefer standing in a tightly packed crowd, to lying in your bed while listening to music.

Magnus snorted smiling crookedly.

"Been on a date?"

Alec tilted his head.

"You know I have, now at least, we're on one right now."

"I know. I just wanted to hear you say it." Magnus purred.

"Oh." Alec blushed.

Magnus pouted his lips, thinking about other possible future firsts.

"Have you bought your date a rose?"

"… I should have brought you a rose, shouldn't I?"

Magnus peaked out from under his arm, meeting Alec's gaze.

"Don't worry; you can do it next time. I like pink ones."

Magnus winked before disappearing behind his arm again.

 _Next time_. Alec's smile broadened.

"Had sex with a woman?" Magnus continued.

"U-uhm," Alec stuttered, caught by surprise having been thinking about future dates. "No."

"I know you're gay, so I didn't expect anything else." Magnus chuckled. "Have you had sex with a man, then?"

Alec hesitated. He hadn't, even though he was 19. He knew that both Isabelle and Jace had lost their virginities years ago. Maybe it was common to wait longer if you were gay? He wasn't sure. Maybe he was just making excuses.

"No." He answered finally.

Magnus didn't seem bothered by the fact, he just continued;

"But you must have kissed someone."

Alec nervously fingered the seam on Magnus' trousers.

"Not yet."

Once again Magnus lifted away his arm, peaking at Alec.

"Never?"

"Never." Alec averted his eyes.

"Not anyone?"

"Nope, no one."

Magnus removed his arm completely, pushing himself up into a sitting position. Alec carefully pointed his gaze at the warlock, expecting a judging face. But no such look greeted him. The look on Magnus' face was curious, nothing else.

"Would you like to?"

Alec sucked in a breath. Magnus' yellow, catlike eyes were steadily watching the shahdowhunter.

Alec swallowed once and nodded slowly.

Sitting frozen he watched the warlock who leaned in close, with a small, reassuring smile. Their lips touched. It was just a light touch, but it still made Alec's heart skip a beat. He could feel the heat radiating from his cheeks. With one hand against the small of Magnus' back, and the other rising to cup the warlock's cheek Alec parted his lips, inviting him in. Magnus took he hint; his bottom lip slipped in in between Alec's parted ones.

It was like a symphony. Everything perfectly timed. Magnus took the lead, and Alec followed, letting the other man's tongue enter his mouth and entangle with his. The kiss was slow, pleasant, and exploring.

Alec had never believed anyone when they had said that kissing could be so amazing. He had understood that some pleasure had to be in it, since everyone kept doing it, but he had never understood what could be so special about it.

He did now.

His eyes were closed, which sharpened his other senses. He could smell the sweet scent of the warlock, combined with lit candles and wine. He could hear them both kissing, and breathing, and Magnus' leather pants creaking slightly. He could feel the long, slim legs of the warlock across his own, and Magnus' fingers loosely entangled with his hair, but most of all he could feel their lips and tongues meeting, greeting and exploring each other.

Alec felt like he could go on forever, leaving his responsibilities to someone else and retire with Magnus, kissing him, day and night, never stopping.

But all good things have to end.

Magnus slowly pulled away and opened his eyes. They sat there, watching each other, breathing.

Alec was the one who eventually broke the silence.

"Thank you."

Magnus chuckled deeply.

"You're welcome."

Alec frowned and tilted his head, looking over Magnus' shoulder.

"What's that?"

Magnus raised his eyebrows, following Alec gaze.

"Oh! He chuckled. "It's called a cat. Is that another first for you?"

Alec smiled and shook his head.

"No, of course not. I meant, _who's_ that?"

"His name's Chairman Meow."

Alec's brows went up towards his hair at the odd name. He then looked at the cat.

"Hi Chairman."

"Meow." Magnus finished.

"Meow." Alec mimicked, snickering.

He then remembered the clawed up sofa they were currently sitting on.

"Well that explains it." He said, nodding towards a deep scratch next to his own shoulder.

"Yeah, this is more his place than it is mine."

Alec laughed at this and leaned back in the couch again. Magnus did the same, laying his head on the armrest.

"Hey, what time is it?" Alec asked, realizing that he probably had been there quite a while.

"Uhmm…"

Magnus started searching between and under the couch pillows with his hand until he stopped and pulled out a small object. He flipped open his phone.

"Ah, shit." He sat up pushing buttons at incredible speed.

"What is it?" Alec asked quietly, not sure if it was okay to disturb him while texting so fiercely.

Magnus seemed to hit send and dragged his hand over his eyes (without messing up his makeup, had to be magic) and sighed.

"Old friend needs my help. I'm sorry Alec, but I have to take this."

Alec tried not to show his disappointment. Of course he recognized these kinds of situations, being a shadowhunter. Though more often being the one needing to leave, rather than being the one left.

"No, of course. Go."

Magnus cupped the shadowhunter's cheek with a look that said that all he wanted to do was to stay. He rose from the couch and went towards his bedroom. Alec sighed deeply before rising as well, and walked to the door, waiting for Magnus.

* * *

They left together shortly and ended up at the very place where Alec had stood with his finger hovering over the buzzer. It all seemed so far away now, like it was weeks, even months ago.  
It had grown colder since then and their breath's formed clouds in front of them.

Magnus leaned down and kissed Alec a second time that night. Alec grabbed the warlock's coat, pulling him closer. Once again Magnus was the one who had to end the kiss. He brushed a black strand of hair out of the shadowhunter's face and smiled.

"Call me."

He then turned and walked down the street in the soft light from the street lamps. Alec remained until he could no longer see his date's silhouette.

Biting his lip, trying not to laugh out of pure joy he twisted around and went the other way.


	3. Chapter 3: Doubt

**A collision of hearts**

By: Writheworth

Chapter 3: Doubt

A/N: Don't get used to me posting new chapters so often, it'll change (x  
Somtimes you'll get new chapters frequently, and sometimes it'll take some time, and the lenght may vary from very short to extremely long and that's just something you're going to have to live with, I'm afraid.  
I hope you can bear with me and still enjoy reading (:

(It's not allowing me to make a heart, so, when they're texting this: ^3 Is supposed to be a heart)

* * *

Alec opened his eyes and drowsily looked around the room. He was lying in his own bed, and it could have been any normal day – but it wasn't. It was special, because it was the day after his date with the high warlock of Brooklyn.

As his memory started flooding back a smile spread over his face and he sat up. He had never been on a date before, so he didn't really know what had to happen for someone to be able to say that a date went well, but his current feeling told him that it had gone amazing.

He kicked off the covers and exposed his skin to the cold air of the institute. Putting on his trousers he searched his memory for every detail from last night, everything from the barking dog to the soft lips of Magnus Bane.

Walking through the corridors he bit down on his lip, trying not to giggle when remembering Magnus' smooth kisses. As he entered the kitchen he forced himself to wipe the smile off his face since both Jace and Isabelle sat at the table, and he would prefer to avoid a questioning.

"Anything not cooked by Izzy for breakfast?" He asked, trying to act normal.

Isabelle turned towards Alec.

"No, idiot, it's almost lunchtime." She retorted irritably.

"What?!" Alec exclaimed, spilling some of the coffee he was trying to pour into a mug. He searched for a clock, trying to convince himself that she was joking.

"Yeah, we tried to wake you, but you told us to fuck off." Jace said bitterly.

Alec ignored Jace's grumpy comment, he had heard a lot of them during the last few days, ever since the attack, and they only seemed to be directed at Alec. He didn't worry about it too much, these things tended to happen from time to time when it came to Jace, but they usually didn't last this long.

"Has there been any calls?" He asked and tried to remain calm over the fact that he had overslept, something that just didn't happen.

"Yeah, we had to take it without you, and we realized that it was actually easier without your ugly mule as a distraction."

Alec dragged his hand over his face and sighed. He'd even missed a call. So far Magnus couldn't exactly be called a positive influence.

"Shut up, Jace." Izzy said rolling her eyes. "How come you slept so late? Are you sick?"

"No, uhm, late night." Alec answered drying off the spilled coffee from the counter.

"Doing what?" She pushed.

A picture of Magnus strewn out on the ripped sofa, leather clad legs lying in Alec's lap, popped up in his head.

"Reading."

He sipped his coffee making a face. It was cold.

Jace snorted.

"Yeah, right, like you can read."

"What was the call about?" Alec asked, changing the subject. He poured out his coffee in the sink and started making a new pot.

"Some newly turned werewolf went amok in a store a few blocks from here. Apparently it belonged to the guy who changed her."

"Yeah, she'd gotten in a fight with a werewolf on a party, getting him all worked up. Idiot." Jace filled in, sipping his, probably cold, coffee.

Alec raised his eyebrows and turned away from them to hide his smile.

 _And I wouldn't be surprised if she's a werewolf now!_

It had to be the same girl that Magnus had spoken about the night before.

"Uh-huh." Alec answered, trying not to laugh as he poured the newly brewed coffee and sipped it.

At that moment Clary entered the room. Alec's smile disappeared and a frown replaced it.

"Oh, you're back. How did it go?"

"Fine. What've you been doing?" Jace asked, arrogance suddenly absent in his voice.

"I've been drawing. Well, at least trying…Is this hot?" She poured herself a cup of coffee.

"Yeah, no, help yourself." Alec said irritably under his breath. Clary was too busy to hear him, but Jace did, even though he was further away, and he gave him a warning look.

"I haven't drawn in so long, I feel like I've lost my talent."

She sat down next to Jace who patted her knee.

"You'll find it again. Ready to get back in the game?"

Clary took a big gulp of her coffee.

"Yeah, what are we doing today?"

"Failing." Alec commented quietly.

Jace looked like he would punch Alec in the face if he got too close.

"Thought we could try out some close-range battle techniques." He said, not letting his eyes leave Alec's.

"Yeah, all right." Clary smiled insecurely at Jace, trying to shake off the unfriendly comment, and then looked between Alec and Isabelle. "Anyone joining?"

Alec rolled his eyes.

"Nah, I'm gonna go out for a bit." Izzy answered picking up her phone from the table and flipping it open. Alec saw her looking through her contacts over her shoulder. She was probably looking for a hookup.

Jace looked to Alec, giving him a questioning look, probably looking for an opportunity to hit him.

"No, busy."

"Oh, come on, I need someone to show all the moves on."

"Just do it on her."

"Oh, I already am." Jace said, getting an elbow in the ribs by a blushing Clary.

"But not those kind of moves." He finished, his voice a bit strained from the punch.

Alec shook his head making a disgusted face.

"Maybe later."

"You're just afraid I'll beat you, as usual."

He stood up and left the room, companied by the redhead. Alec finished his coffee and put it in the sink.

"You need to stop acting up against Clary, it looks like she'll be around for a while, so suck it up."

"She'll be gone in a week. Jace just has a weakness for redheads, that's why she's not yet disposed of."

"She's one of us, no matter if she's dating Jace or not. She's staying." Isabelle said with her 'and that's final'-voice.

Alec felt a rage growing inside him.

"She'll never make it as a shadowhunter! It's too late for her! Training takes years, and you have to start when you're a kid to be able to become really good! You can't start when you're 17 and think that you'll be fully trained within weeks!"

"You're just jealous." Isabelle answered calmly.

" _Me_? Jealous of _Clary_? Oh, yeah, I've always wanted to be redheaded and bad at fighting!" Alec turned away from Isabelle and started doing the dishes, just to have something to do.

"Not like that. You're jealous because she's together with Jace. Something you've always wanted."

Alec stopped short. What did she just say? He must have heard wrong. Slowly, he turned around to face her. She sat in her chair, legs crossed, casually tracing the edge of her empty mug with her finger, looking at him.

"I've known for years, Alec. The way you look at him. The way you talk about him. And you're just as good as him at fighting. You just let him win a bit too often, to have him on top of you."

His blood felt like ice, stiff in his veins, stopping him from moving. Alec swallowed lowering his gaze. He had no idea anyone knew, except himself and Magnus of course. Was it really that obvious?

"Does _he_ know?" He asked after a long silence.

"No. He's too absorbed of himself to notice."

He groaned out of relief, closing his eyes.

"Mother?"

"No."

He let out a shaky breath.

"It's no big deal, Alec. Lots of people are gay."

Alec flinched at the word. He didn't like it, not when it was linked to him.

"This doesn't change anything. You're still my brother."

"Well I wouldn't be our mother's son if she knew." He opened his eyes, frowning.

"Of course you would. I'm sure she wouldn't mind." Izzy tried.

Alec gave her a look and she lowered her gaze, admitting defeat. They both knew that he probably had to start looking for a new place to live if she found out.

There was a long, dragged out silence.

"I need to shower." Alec left the room without looking at his sister.

* * *

Alec turned the knob and hot water started flowing from the showerhead. He leaned his head against the wall, letting the heat absorb him.

Who was he kidding, trying to date another man when he was already in love? If it was love. Alec had nothing to compare it to. Maybe it was just a stupid crush. The kind that just disappeared without a trace one day. Or maybe it was the kind of love that has its roots deep in your heart, that never truly goes away…

What was he supposed to tell Magnus?

' _Yeah, I've been in love with this self-absorbed asshole for years. Oh, right, and we live together and he's basically my brother. But you still want to date me, right?'_

He couldn't be that selfish and force Magnus to go through something like that. He should do the right thing and break it off before it got serious. Before any real feelings could be hurt.

Magnus must have been through a break up before, being both the heartbroken and the heartbreaker.

A sudden jealousy hit the shadowhunter. How many had Magnus dated through his years? He was older than Alec, probably much older, so he must have gone through quite a lot of partners. Of course he had, everybody probably wanted to date Magnus Bane, so he just had to take his pick.

And now he had picked Alec.

Alec blushed before hitting the wet wall and groaning, frustrated. What were these feelings? He couldn't tell one from another or for whom he felt it. What was real? He felt strongly for Jace, but just as strongly for Magnus, and even though he felt very much alike for the both of them there was something different burning inside him whenever he thought of Magnus, that did not exist while thinking of Jace. He just couldn't put his finger on it.

But why would the high warlock of Brooklyn choose someone as ordinary as Alec? Maybe the date was just out of sympathy. Magnus trying to comfort the shadowhunter whose pride had been hurt in a fight.

Alec clutched his heart as if he could make the sudden pain in his chest go away. He shouldn't expect to hear from the warlock again.

He got out of the shower, feeling confused and devastated. He wasn't sure what he felt for Magnus, but it hurt not getting a chance to find out, that it had to end before it had even begun.

He dried off, but never got any further than putting on his underwear when a sound interrupted him. He took his black jeans from a hook on the wall and started searching the pockets until he found what he was looking for.

He flipped open the phone, expecting it to be a call but instead reading:

 _Magnus_

Alec frowned. He had no memory of ever entering the warlock's number amongst his contacts. Magnus must have done it sometime during the previous evening. Did that mean he actually wanted to meet him again? He opened the text.

'U never called'

He didn't want to get his hopes up, but he couldn't help smiling at the text.

 _Call me._

It hadn't been a suggestion. Magnus had given him an order. An order which he had not obeyed. Alec dropped his jeans on the floor to get both hands free.

'It's not even noon, it's only been a few hours' Alec texted back, grinning.

The answer came quickly:

'A few hours r a few hours 2 much. I told u to call me'

'Sorry, I thought that maybe you'd be asleep'

'I am'

'You're texting?'

Alec tried to multitask and put on the rest of his clothes while answering, but Magnus had quick thumbs, he had barely picked up his jeans from the floor before a new text buzzed his phone.

'I woke up. `No missed calls´ Had 2 make sure u weren't dead'

Alec snickered, dropping his pants once again on the floor.

'Not dead. You can sleep in peace.'

'How do I know this is rly you and not your murderer?'

'Don't you trust me?'

'Well I haven't actually had the pleasure of knowing u for so long :*'

Alec frowned at the weird combination of symbols.

'What's :*?'

'Oh, hi baby, it _is_ u ^3'

'What? What confirmed it? And what's with the symbols?'

'Only u r uneducated enough to not know what :* and ^3 means'

Before Alec had the chance to answer another text came in:

'Anyway, now that I know ur ok, I can get back to sleep. I'll call u when I wake up'

'Wait, what _does_ :* mean?'

'I'll show u the next time I see u :* Nighty night, blue eyes.'

Alec still had no clue what it meant but put away his phone, not sure how to interpret this. He chose not to think about it for now and looked up, seeing his reflection in the bathroom mirror – he was smiling like a total idiot.

* * *

Alec entered the training room, having nothing better to do other than to overthink Magnus' texts, and he wanted to avoid that. There he found Jace standing with Clary pinned under his boot. He couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"Okay, okay! Gerroff!"

Jace grinned and let her go, offering her a hand, which she completely ignored. Alec looked at her disapprovingly. He couldn't help but dislike her. Maybe Alec's judgment was clouded by his feeling towards Jace, but according to him she seemed to think she was so special. Alec had been a shadowhunter since birth and did not think anything special of himself, but just because she was raised a mundane she was suddenly so much better than everyone else now that she had become a shadowhunter?

"What's with the smirk?" He asked Jace, walking towards them. "Beating Clary is like beating a three year old. No offence."

"How could I not take offence?" Clary asked raising her arms questioningly.

Alec shrugged. Jace's grin disappeared as he looked upon his fellow shadowhunter.

"If you don't start laying off Clary soon I will break your bones." He took a few threatening steps towards Alec.

"Give it your best shot."

Jace was not known for his ability to resist a challenge and threw himself over Alec who ducked out of the way. Jace was an amazing fighter when he was in the zone, which he for the moment was not. Anger could be a motivator, making you want to give it your all, but most of the time you had to leave the anger outside of the fight or you'd get careless. This was not new information, but still Jace charged again, anger twisting his features, and once again Alec was able to fend off his attack.

"Concentrate, Jace. You're losing it." Alec said mockingly knowing it would throw him off even more.

He expected Jace to yell out and run towards his opponent without a plan, but that was not what happened. Instead the shadowhunter straightened up and took three deep breaths, not breaking eye contact with the dark haired one.

"What's your fucking problem?" He asked, breathing slowly.

"What's yours?" Alec was getting irritated. This had gone on for days. Why was Jace defending Clary so wholeheartedly? This was not like him. "We've trained our whole life, and we're still learning. How do you expect _her_ to make it to our level during her lifetime when she just started her training a few weeks ago? She'll be dead before she turns 25."

Jace was suddenly moving, his boots slamming heavily on the floor. From the wall of weapons he picked two seraph blades and threw one of them to Alec who caught it.

"She'll outlive you. You're too sloppy in a fight. Do you know how many times I've saved your life? No, you don't, because you're not even aware that I'm constantly stopping someone from stabbing you in the back."

"Jace, it's fine, leave it." Clary tried, with a hint of panic in her voice where she stood, forgotten, in the middle of the room. They both ignored her, circling each other, closing in.

"Oh really, so we're just going to ignore the times you've been disarmed by an enemy and have had to depend on me to save your delicate skin?"

Jace swung his blade towards his opponent. It swept smoothly through the air and hit Alec's blade. He pushed away Jace's sword to the left, knowing he was right handed, which made the next blow slower. This allowed Alec to easily fend it off and punch Jace over the jaw with his blades handle.

"You self-absorbed piece of shit, why would I want saving from you?!" Jace growled recovering from the hit.

Their blades met, both of the pushing hard trying to make the other one yield.

"Me? Self-absorbed? I bet you scream _your own_ name while in bed with Clary!"

Jace swung his blade towards Alec's left leg, hitting his knee. Alec fell to the ground hearing Clary's scream. She ran out of the room, a detail Alec couldn't help but noticing, since he thought it proved his point that she was not shadowhunter material.

Though one of the first things you learn in training is to not get distracted, a mistake Alec now had made, giving Jace the upper hand.

Jace kicked him hard in the ribs, forcing the air out of his lungs. Alec desperately tried to inhale, but only accomplished a choking sound. He swung his blade as Jace went in for another kick and slashed his side.

Jace screamed and dropped his blade. Alec managed to take his first breath since the kick, but had no time to exhale before the other shadowhunter was over him. Punching his face over and over with his bare hands. Alec tried to hit him over the head with the handle of his blade, but Jace grabbed it and put the tip of it against the other's shoulder. Alec screamed, feeling the blade enter his skin, but only a few centimeters before stopping.

Jace's eyes were filled with rage and his hands were still on the handle of the blade, threatening to push it in further. Alec stayed completely still.

"You never considered how I would feel that night you got hurt, huh? If you don't end this hero bullshit I will…"

But Jace were never able to finish his sentence, because a thin string of silver tied around his neck and jerked him backwards. Alec felt the blade leave his shoulder and backed away quickly.

In front of him stood Isabelle, her whip pulling back from Jace who rubbed his throat, looking angrily at her. Clary stood behind her with tears in her eyes. Alec had thought she had ran away out of panic, but by acting as she did, fetching Izzy, she had probably stopped Jace from cutting off Alec's arm.

"What's the matter with you two?!" Isabelle screamed. "Go to your rooms!"

"You're not my mother." Alec heard Jace hiss.

Clary left her place behind Izzy and kneeled next to Jace, whispering words Alec could not make out. Clary rose and held out her hand. After a moment Jace took it and they left the room. Alec looked after them.

"Ok, what's going on?! He has been doing this ever since the attack! What did he mean? Before you interfered he said that I never considered his feelings the night I got hurt." Alec yelled, frustrated. He tried to ignore the pain it caused him to move and stood up.

"It's just Jace, being a douchebag as usual. Let me help you with your iratzes."

"Isabelle. Tell me." Alec pushed. He felt like he was the only person in the institute who did not know what was going on.

"Why do I always have to clean up your messes?" Isabelle sighed. "Fine. But I'm not doing it here, I need something to eat, I'm starving."

She turned around and walked out of the room.


	4. Chapter 4: Long version

**A collision of hearts**

By: Writheworth

Chapter 4: Long version

A/N: Please forgive me for the long wait and this extremely short and unsatisfying chapter! I've not been feeling very well, in addition to suffering from a severe case of writer's block.  
Thank you so much for the reviews. Belive me, they mean _a lot._ If it weren't for them I would've probably given up.

Also: you can really help me out by leaving suggestions or requests of what you want to read about in the upcoming chapters. It can be a fight, a date, or anything you can come up with! Help me to recover from writer's block!

Thank you for reading and showing your support, it is really appreciated.

* * *

"I thought you were going out."

Alec watched Isabelle as she sat down opposite to him with some left-overs from the indian restaurant a few blocks from the institute.

"I was. Clary grabbed me as I was walking out the door." She watched her brother seriously. "Luckily enough for you."

"I didn't need your help." Alec answered irritably.

"He was threatening to cut off your arm, and almost did by the look of your shoulder." She said, looking at him in disbelief and gestured to his wound.

Alec covered it with his hand. He had refused any runes, not wanting to rid himself of the pain just yet. His soft spot for Jace often made his anger towards him disappear too easily, but the pain now kept it alive, burning inside him.

"Will you just tell me why he's acting up?"

Isabelle sighed and put down her fork.

"Do you remember the attack?"

"Apparently not all of it." He answered grumpily.

He remembered striking down a demon and then seeing Clary pinned to a tree, her arm and blade not long enough to reach out and pierce the creature which held her. But before Alec could act he also saw Jace, fighting two demons fiercely, but not noticing a third one quickly closing in from behind. That meant two people had been in deadly peril

For Alec the choice had been simple. Within a moment he had reached Jace and separated the third demon's head from its body. He had turned around, meaning to help his parabatai further, but then… Nothing. That's where his memory failed him, and only pain and a few faint glimpses of Magnus were left.

"I remember beheading a demon and then turning towards Jace, but after that it's black."

"So you don't know what struck you?"

"No, but I'm certain my back was clear, so I must have faced it, but the wound can't have been deep, because there's no scar left after Magnus' healing." Alec said, sure of himself, and lightly touched his chest where he thought the wound would have been, trying to remember.

Isabelle shook her head. Alec looked at her, trying to understand. He urged her to elaborate.

"It was a Garwak demon."

Alec opened his mouth to ask what that had to do with anything, but then realized… Garwak demons had a feature similar to cockroaches; cutting off their heads did not stop them, their bodies could live on. Alec had overlooked this detail in his hurry to save Jace. The demon must have temporarily fell down, leading Alec to thinking his back would be clear if he turned around. That mistake he had almost had to pay for with his life. That explained why he hadn't seen the scar - it was located on his back.

"By the angel, of course! But wait, what has that got to do with Jace?" Alec asked, baffled.

Isabelle looked at him as if the answer was obvious.

"He was extremely close to losing two of the people he loves most and I think he blames himself for it. If he had watched his back you wouldn't have had to choose who to save. You would have saved Clary."

Alec snorted.

"You would have." Isabelle said decidedly. "So by choosing Jace, you risked Clary's life and almost lost your own. What makes it even worse is that Jace was the one who insisted that she joined us. None of this would have happened if he hadn't brought her along. He's trying to pin the incident on you, though secretly blaming himself."

Alec shook his head in disbelief. It wasn't as if Clary had died; she hadn't even received injuries big enough to leave scars.

"But you got to Clary in time, you saved her." He protested.

"Barely. But that's not the point. It _could_ have gone really bad. We're lucky Magnus was available to help out."

Alec sat quiet, thinking through this new information. If all this was because of an inner conflict of Jace's, then it would be hard to fix.

He sighed, burying his face in his hands.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Talk to him." Izzy said, shrugging her shoulders. "It might help. Probably not, but you know, it's worth a try."

"I won't go down on my knees, begging for his forgiveness for having done nothing wrong." He said angrily.

Isabelle sighed, giving up.

"Fine. But no more fights." She said sternly.

"You're not my mother."

At that moment Alec's pocket started vibrating. He fished out his phone and saw Magnus' name on the screen.

"Thanks for the chat." He blurted out.

Alec left a confused Isabelle alone in the kitchen and hurried through the corridor with his phone still buzzing in his hand. Locking his bedroom door behind him and leaning against it he flipped open the phone and put it against his ear.


	5. Chapter 5: Magic

**A collision of hearts**

By Writheworth

Chapter 5: Magic

A/N: Here's the new chapter! I'll try not to delay the next one too long this time. Thank you for reading and reviewing, requests are always welcome.  
Enjoy (:

* * *

"How do you 'forget' something like this?" Magnus asked, his healing fingers tracing the wound on Alec's shoulder, closing it up. "It's not like it's a scrubbed knee, your shoulder is barely functional, and your face…" He stopped and stood up straight to observe Alec who lay on his back on Magnus' bed. The shadowhunter had exposed his wounded shoulder by poking it out of the outstretched neck hole of his shirt, wanting to avoid taking it off entirely. He didn't know why it felt so uncomfortable showing his bare skin. It felt private and vulnerable.

"It's not that bad." Alec mumbled.

Magnus rolled his eyes at the comment and once again bent down over his patient to finish healing his shoulder.

"You could've at least given me a heads up over the phone. I barely recognized you when you showed up on my doorstep."

"I'm sorry, I f…"

"Forgot, yeah I heard you." Magnus interrupted shaking his head, a small smile playing over his lips. "Shadowhunters."

Alec smiled and observed the concentrated warlock as he worked his magic. The usual spikes did not crown Magnus' head that day, as it usually did. Instead his hair swung loosely in front of his forehead, and even though no glitter seemed to have been applied the hairs still shone in a range of different colours. Blue, purple, and red dancing together with black. He was not wearing any flashy makeup either. All he had was a thin, black line along the edges of his eyes. The fact that Magnus was so extraordinary even in his natural state made Alec's stomach flutter. He had never seen anything more beautiful.

As he studied Magnus' face he saw that a crease had appeared between the other man's eyebrows. He raised his right hand, the one which was not occupied by the warlock's healing, and pressed his thumb against the line, flattening it out.

Magnus raised his eyes at his touch and watched the shadowhunter as he lowered his hand from the warlock's forehead. Alec smiled, seeing that the crease had indeed disappeared. Left was nothing but smooth skin.

He felt a weight in the bed as the warlock sat down beside him and leaned forward. He softly pressed his lips against Alec's face, focusing on the bruised and swollen areas which had been caused by Jace's fists.

He placed the first kiss on Alec's eye and worked his way down towards his jaw, taking his time with each kiss. When his mouth left the other man's skin it was flat and smooth again and the discolourations had vanished. At last he finished, kissing the shadowhunter on his lips, and healing the small nick which was located close to the corner of his mouth.

Alec ran his fingers through the warlock's hair and almost gasped. Never had he felt anything so soft and smooth. He felt the strands of hair give way to his rough fingers as if they were made of air. With his other hand he stroked Magnus' cheek as their lips worked together in a slow, exploring pace.

Magnus' hand was working its way along Alec's jaw and neck, down to his now healed, but still exposed, shoulder. Alec took a sharp breath, but let it out in a pleasurable sigh. He intertwined his fingers with the warlock's hair and took a firm grasp. He pulled in his desire to get closer to the extraordinary man leaning over him. Magnus suddenly broke the kiss with a gasp. Alec quickly let go, panic entering his mind.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pull so hard, I…"

"No." Magnus said and smiled, his eyes filled with desire. "I liked it."

He kissed Alec.

"Do it again." He whispered against his lips.

Alec obeyed and once again grasped the warlock's hair, pulling it, at first gently, getting a quiet purr in response. He then pulled harder and a moan escaped Magnus' lips.

Alec smiled; he loved that he could make Magnus moan just by pulling his hair.

 _What other ways were there to make him moan?_

He wrapped his arm around the warlock, wanting to explore the subject further, and so Magnus broke the kiss and moved from sitting on the edge of the bed to sitting in straddle over Alec. The taller man put his hands on the shadowhunter's chest and bent forward to resume the kiss. Then it was Alec's turn to gasp, though this time out of pain.

He grabbed his ribs as Magnus sat up straight without missing a beat.

"Alec, what did I do?" He asked, confused and slightly terrified.

Alec shook his head.

"No, it wasn't you, it was…"

"Jace." Magnus finished, his mind connecting the dots. "Shirt off."

It was not a question. Alec once again shook his head, not wanting to obey the order. He was already in a vulnerable position, lying underneath a downworlder who was in fact quite a lot taller than him. Even though a single layer of fabric was never going to stop the warlock if he wanted to get underneath it, the idea of removing his shirt felt terrifying to Alec.

"No, it's fine."

"I'll tell you when it's fine. Right now I doubt it is, considering your reaction to me putting my weight on you."

Alec still hesitated.

"What's the problem? Is it…? It's not like I haven't seen your body before." Magnus said raising one eyebrow.

The shadowhunter's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to ask when but was cut off.

"The attack." Said Magnus and at the same time snapped his fingers, making the other's shirt disappear without a trace. Alec yelped and threw his arms over his chest in chock.

Magnus, who was still straddling Alec, calmly removed the other man's strong, scarred arms and bent down again, this time making sure to put his weight on the bed instead. He studied the discoloured area closely, the crease between his eyebrows appearing again.

"It's a miracle they're not broken." He said after gently tracing the bones with his fingers.

Alec looked down and couldn't help but agree. It was a splash of colour, shifting from red to yellow in the middle where Jace's boot must've hit, and then getting darker and darker towards a purple, almost black, area which surrounded the whole thing. The colours stretched out over a number of ribs. It looked like a sickness, which had already wiped out all life in the middle and was now working on doing the same to the surrounding skin.

Alec shifted his gaze to Magnus whose hands suddenly lit up in blue. Alec first thought they were flames, dancing over his skin, but at a closer look he saw that they looked more like a veil, a thin fabric blowing in the wind, although the room's only window was closed. It looked smooth and welcoming, but Alec grabbed Magnus' wrists.

"Don't."

The warlock looked up, confused by this action.

"I don't want you to waste your energy." Alec elaborated, still with a fast grip around the warlock's wrists.

Magnus chuckled. He leaned closer to the shadowhunter's face. Alec could feel his minty fresh breath against his mouth.

"Why? Will I need it for something else?" He whispered and chewed his lip seductively.

Alec's eyes widened when he realized what he meant.

"U-uuhh…"

Magnus' tounge slid out of his mouth and traced Alec's bottom lip (the shadowhunter was fighting hard not to whimper) before he retreated into a sitting position once again.

"Besides, _this_ is what I call wasting energy, considering healing actually _accomplishes_ something." Magnus continued (as if he head not just caused Alec's blood to rush downwards) nodding towards his hands which were still covered in the dancing, blue veils.

Alec gulped, getting his head together again.

"Then turn them off!" He said and shook the warlock's hands.

Magnus laughed.

"Darling, they're no Etch A Sketches, it won't go away just by shaking them."

Alec looked at Magnus with furrowed brows, frustrated.

"You don't have to heal me. I have a stele."

Magnus looked at Alec for a few seconds before making his hands into fists, and so extinguishing the dancing lights. Alec smiled a little, relieved that Magnus had given in. He released the downworlder's wrists and began to reach for his pocket when Magnus' eyes suddenly flashed and a smile broadened on his face. Alec barely had time to realize his mistake.

Within a second the warlock's hands were once again lit and were resting against Alec's ribs. Alec quickly went for Magnus' wrists again, but the pain that came with moving slowed him down enough to allow the warlock to get the upper hand. Magnus twisted his body so that he pinned Alec down, with his knee against the shadowhunter's chest.

"Magnus!" Alec yelled, annoyed, mostly because of his allowing himself to be tricked so easily.

The warlock laughed and looked down at the defeated nephilim underneath him, who eventually stopped struggling and relaxed into the mattress, admitting defeat. Alec shook his head with a smile.

He closed his eyes. It actually was a pleasant experience being healed by Magnus Bane, high warlock of Brooklyn. It was an experience which most people would prefer to the harsh burn of the stele, and let's face it: so did Alec. But he did not want to get used to having the comfort and convenience of having his own personal warlock, healing every nick, bruise, and wound as soon as he needed it. It might cause him to become sloppy in battle.

No, this was just a one-time thing.

 _Yeah, right. Keep telling yourself that._

Alec opened his eyes. Large, yellow globes with slit pupils were looking back at him from above.

"All done."

Magnus smiled and dove down to Alec's neck, his lips slowly working their way downwards towards his naked chest.

 _Naked chest._

Panic crept in from all directions. What had come over him before? The warmth of Magnus' healing, the touch of his lips and hair, it had been too much to resist. At the time he hadn't even questioned his own sudden… _desire._

But now things were different. His upper body was entirely exposed. The warlock was closer than ever and this time no pain was in the way of going further, as it had last time.

Alec's breathing was speeding up. A sign Magnus seemed to misinterpret as desire, because he increased his pace kissing Alec's neck, and was probably leaving hickeys in the process. Alec shook his head vigorously.

"No."

He was not ready for this.

"What?" Magnus asked between kisses, not having heard what he had said.

"No!"

He shoved Magnus off him and flew up on his feet beside the bed, arms clinging around his own body in a desperate attempt to protect his exposed skin. His eyes were staring, and his breathing was short and shallow. He just stood there for a few seconds, trying to make his mouth form words.

Magnus sat up slowly in the bed, not letting his eyes leave Alec's, awaiting his calming down.

"I don't know what came over me before, but Iamnotreadyforthis." Alec blurted out, unbelievingly fast.

Magnus said nothing, but sat still and waited. Alec embedded his nails in his skin, trying to calm himself.

"I'm sorry, Magnus, but I can't do this. I've never… I don't… I can't…"

He did not manage to form the sentences he so desperately needed to get out. He needed to tell Magnus that he was amazing, and magical, and beautiful. That he had never met anyone so extraordinary, and that he couldn't believe that the high warlock of Brooklyn had chosen Alec. That he had watched Magnus from afar for years, having even tried the fearless rune to try to build up courage enough to speak to him. That he felt so strongly for him that he barely knew what to do with himself when he was around him.

But also that he had never been involved with anyone and that no one but his family – and now Magnus – had seen him without clothes (and that hadn't happened since Alec was a child). That he had not touched or been touched _that way_ before and even though the thought excited him, it also scared him. And that, if anyone, Magnus was the person he was willing to try _that_ with. Just not right now.

But what Alec did not understand at first, was that he did not have to say any of that to make Magnus understand. The warlock understood every unspoken word and finally rose from his place at the bed. In his hand was the knitted sweater he had removed in the beginning of their healing session and thrown on the floor.

"Arms up." He said calmly and held it up.

Alec lifted his gaze to meet Magnus' before he did as told and held his arms over his head. The taller man easily pulled the fabric over him and then took Alec's hands in his.

"I will not force you to do anything." He said calmly. "I want you to want me…"

"I do..!" Alec insisted.

"… but mostly I want you to feel comfortable wanting me." Magnus finished and smiled gently. "We are not in a hurry, Alexander. Take your time."

Alec stared into the yellow eyes of the warlock. He hadn't even noticed until now that he was no longer hyperventilating, but was breathing normally.

They were standing close to each other, but with nothing but their hands touching. They hung loosely between them, fingers intertwined.

"How are you real?" Alec asked, his voice nothing more than a weak whisper.

Magnus shrugged.

"Magic." He answered, chuckling, before he embraced the shadowhunter.


End file.
